Built for rumors, fast-moving news, and claims that spread faster than the proof.

Latest fact-checks

Mostly true

Trump-era disruption of PEPFAR is real, but framing is imprecise

Claim checked

“More than a year ago, I wrote about how Trump and Musk cut the #Pepfar program, which saved the lives of more than 26 million people in Africa who have HIV/AIDS. They are already dying. @newrepublic”

The central substance of the claim is accurate: the Trump administration and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency severely disrupted PEPFAR, the landmark U.S. global AIDS program, through funding freezes, the dissolution of USAID, and mass award cancellations. Independent reporting and policy research confirm widespread service interruptions. The widely cited 26...

Misleading

European Heat Deaths and Air Conditioning Claims

Claim checked

“Reminder that ~60,000 Europeans die every summer because it's a continent too sophisticated for air conditioning”

The claim that about 60,000 Europeans die every summer from heat is broadly supported by recent research, but pinning those deaths on Europe being "too sophisticated for air conditioning" oversimplifies the evidence. A 2025 Nature Medicine study estimated 62,775 heat-related deaths across Europe in summer 2024, with comparable figures for 2022 and 2023, and a June 2026 World...

Mostly true

Monaco Explosion Injures Sanctioned Ukrainian Businessman and Family

Claim checked

“Ukrainian media reports that Ukrainian oligarch, who was sanctioned by Zelensky, his wife & teenager son are critically injured in explosion in Monaco. Suspect left bag with this bomb & fled. Monaco calls this first terrorist attack in its history.”

Multiple outlets confirm a backpack bomb exploded outside a residential building in Monaco on the evening of June 29, 2026, critically injuring sanctioned Ukrainian businessman Vadym Yermolaev, his wife, and their teenage son. The suspect was caught on CCTV placing the bag and fled toward France. Most core elements of the viral claim are accurate. However, reporting indicates...

Contradicted

NATO Has No Protocol Mandating Presidential Delegation Leadership

Claim checked

“Podle protokolu NATO je zcela jasné, že delegaci má vést prezident. Tedy nejvyšší ústavní činitel.”

Czech politician Ivan Bartoš claimed on X that NATO protocol makes it "completely clear" the president must lead the country's delegation to the upcoming alliance summit in Ankara. That assertion is contradicted by NATO's own public statements. A NATO official told POLITICO that "the leader of the delegation representing an Ally at a NATO Summit is for each Ally to decide."...

Mostly true

Joe Kent's Wife Was Killed in Syria Bombing

Claim checked

“Imagine being JOE KENT. islamist jihadi killed his freinds in the war. they suicided bombeded his wife and took the mother of there children away while yelling allah akbar. So what his response to all of this? THATS RIGHT. blame the jews. lol”

The core of the viral claim is substantially correct: Joe Kent's wife, Shannon Kent, was indeed killed in a suicide bombing by Islamist militants in Syria in January 2019, and Joe Kent has publicly blamed Israel in connection with Iran policy debates. The claim's central assertions are supported by Wikipedia records of the attack and by Kent's own public statements criticizing...

Misleading

Viral post pairs reflecting pool debate with exaggerated migrant hotel claims

Claim checked

“The people complaining about the cost of the reflecting pool were ok spending billions putting illegals in 5 star hotels with room service and visa cards.”

A social media post claims that people criticizing the cost of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation were previously comfortable with "billions" spent housing undocumented immigrants in "5 star hotels with room service and visa cards." The reflecting pool renovation is real and has drawn criticism, with costs exceeding $16 million. Migrant housing programs did use...

Supported

Khamenei's IRGC Representative Reaffirms Hostility Toward US

Claim checked

“Ali Khamenei’s representative to the Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that the force would never reconcile with the United States and remained committed to Israel’s destruction. Abdollah Haji-Sadeghi said any negotiations with Washington would not aim at peace or friendship, citing religious grounds for hostility. The Guards view US power as harmful to the Muslim world and consider fighting it a permanent duty, Haji-Sadeghi said.”

Iran International reported that Abdollah Haji-Sadeghi, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's representative to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said on Saturday that the force would never reconcile with the United States and remained committed to Israel's destruction. Reporting from the same outlet five days earlier confirmed that Haji-Sadeghi had made similar statements,...

Supported

Chinese AI Models Dominate Token Pricing

Claim checked

“China is simply unbeatable in terms of token price and plays in a different league than Western companies and models.”

The claim that Chinese AI models are "simply unbeatable" in token pricing remains strongly supported by current pricing data. DeepSeek V4 Flash now costs just $0.09 per million input tokens and $0.18 per million output tokens, even lower than previously recorded, while OpenAI's GPT-5.5 costs $5 input and $30 output — a gap of roughly 56x on input and 167x on output. Multiple...

Supported

Pizza Spikes and Tanker Cells: Is the Pentagon Bracing for a Major Middle East Escalation?

Claim checked

“Pentagon pizza orders through the roof Dozens of US refuelling tankers in the skies of the Persian Gulf Only means one thing”

The claim that Pentagon pizza orders are surging alongside significant US aerial refueling activity in the Persian Gulf is supported by real-time monitoring data and military tracking reports. Pizza Index: Live monitoring of restaurants near the Pentagon shows "spikes" of over 150% at multiple locations as of May 3, 2026. Military Activity: Open-source intelligence (OSINT)...

Supported

Trump Administration Pressured OpenAI to Stagger GPT-5.6 Release

Claim checked

“The Information: The US government is asking OpenAI to slow GPT-5.6 into a controlled preview instead of releasing it broadly at once. OpenAI reportedly plans to give small partner groups early access while officials approve customers one by one, turning a model launch into a security-gated rollout. The concern is Mainly around the automated higher-skill cyber work. so the same model that helps defenders find bugs could also help attackers test exploits faster. --- theinformation...”

Multiple major news outlets and OpenAI's own announcement have confirmed that the Trump administration asked OpenAI to stagger the rollout of its GPT-5.6 model, with the government approving customer access on a case-by-case basis. CEO Sam Altman announced the limited preview in an internal Q&A and memo, citing cybersecurity concerns raised by the Office of the National Cyber...

Mostly true

Torre Pacheco Hammer Attack: What Reporting Confirms

Claim checked

“BLOODbath in Spain: Algerian Migrant Goes HAMMER-WILD on Two Senegalese in Broad Daylight! Streets of Torre Pacheco turned into a slaughterhouse - hammer smashing skulls, broken bottles slashing necks. One victim fighting for life. Blood everywhere. This is what “diversity” looks like when politicians open the floodgates. Migrant-on-migrant carnage now - how long until it’s locals next? Europe’s experiment is FAILING spectacularly. Deport the chaos. Secure the borders. Put citizens FIRST. Spain...”

The core facts of the Torre Pacheco attack are accurate. Multiple Spanish outlets confirm that a man of Algerian origin attacked two Senegalese men on Avenida Juan Carlos I around 6pm on June 25, 2026, using a hammer on one victim and a broken bottle on the other. The hammer victim remains hospitalized in critical condition. The post's central claim about the violent assault...

Misleading

SpaceX-T-Mobile Deal Speculation Resurfaces Online

Claim checked

“BREAKING: SpaceX could acquire T-Mobile”

A widely shared X post labeled "BREAKING" claims SpaceX could acquire T-Mobile. While financial analysts have indeed floated this possibility, no acquisition has been announced or is in progress. The post omits that the claim is analyst speculation, that T-Mobile's parent company has long resisted selling, and that the speculation has circulated for weeks.

Misleading

Viral Post Partially Accurate on Missiles but Overstates Iran Deal

Claim checked

“Trump’s press conference was INSANE: He confirmed that: • Iran gets $300B + $100B unfrozen • Iran has the RIGHT to ballistic missiles • The U.S. was running out of oil • A worldwide depression was coming I was predicting all of this from the first week including that REPARATIONS were coming and got a lot of hate for it. The sellout MAGA frauds are now going to change their entire life-philosophy and deeply held “principles” over night. Trump is on his knees. This was ALWASY the ONLY way it was...”

A viral post on X by commentator ADAM claimed that President Trump's G7 press conference confirmed that Iran would receive $300 billion plus $100 billion in unfrozen funds, that Iran has the right to ballistic missiles, and that a worldwide depression was coming because the U.S. was running out of oil. New reporting from June 2026 has shifted the picture on one of the post's...

Unverified

Qatari mediation visits to Tehran follow a short-visit pattern

Claim checked

“The Qatari delegation has suddenly left Tehran. They were supposed to stay until Sunday.”

The claim that a Qatari negotiating delegation abruptly cut short its Tehran visit and left ahead of a planned Sunday departure remains unverified for the specific May 22–23, 2026 episode. Multiple outlets confirmed the delegation's arrival on May 22 for US-Iran mediation talks, but no credible reporting has surfaced to confirm a sudden departure or the originally reported...

Supported

Onion to Launch New Infowars After Jones's Final Sign-Off

Claim checked

“JUST IN: Alex Jones signs off from Infowars.”

Alex Jones officially signed off from Infowars during a final broadcast on April 30, 2026, and the verdict remains supported by multiple reports. Jones delivered a defiant monologue as the Austin studio's power was set to be cut at midnight. Since the shutdown, the legal saga has continued to unfold. On June 2, 2026, a Texas state judge ruled that Jones must post a $4.3...

Supported

US Military Reinforcements Surge Toward Middle East Amid Conflict with Iran

Claim checked

“Massive amount of US air activity today again headed to the Middle East. Group of tankers also seen dragging jets across the Atlantic heading towards the Middle East.”

Reports of significant US aerial movements toward the Middle East are consistent with the ongoing Operation Epic Fury and the active conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran. Major news outlets confirm that as of April 23, 2026, the US is maintaining a naval blockade of Iranian ports and responding to recent attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Mostly true

Hamas Charter's Language on Jews Under Scrutiny

Claim checked

“Hamas's charter literally calls for killing Jews. Not Zionists. Jews. Read it yourself.”

The claim that Hamas's charter calls for killing Jews is mostly true, but requires important context. The 1988 Hamas charter does contain explicitly antisemitic language, including a passage stating "The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them." However, Hamas issued a new document in 2017 that removed this antisemitic language and stated...

Mostly true

Scandicci Beheading: What We Know About the Killing

Claim checked

“NEWS: A 44 year old woman has been beheaded by an African migrant in the Italian town of Scandicci”

The claim that a 44-year-old woman was beheaded by an African migrant in Scandicci, Italy, is mostly true. Italian news outlets, including ANSA and La Milano, reported in February 2026 that Silke Sauer, a 44-year-old homeless German woman, was found decapitated near an abandoned farmhouse in Scandicci. A Moroccan man was arrested and has since been identified by name as Issam...

Supported

Anthropic Staff Confirm Fable 5 Still Offline After Government Suspension

Claim checked

“Seeing chatter about Fable 5 being accessible - can say categorically this is false, we are not serving any Fable / Mythos traffic Looking into possibility of UI bug on front-end (e.g. based on historical context), but also very real chance it’s just people shitposting…”

Anthropic staff members are correct: the company is not currently serving Fable 5 or Mythos 5 traffic. Posts from Amol Avasare and Sam McAllister on June 25, 2026, saying exactly that are consistent with the company's mid-June decision to disable both models following a U.S. government export control directive. Independent reporting from CNBC and Anthropic's own public...

Supported

Pulitzer Prize for Gaza Photo Sparks Outcry Over Correction

Claim checked

“NYT PHOTO CONTROVERSY ERUPTS AFTER PULITZER WIN A New York Times contributor won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for a viral Gaza photo that was used to promote claims of starvation, despite the paper later issuing a correction acknowledging the child suffered from cerebral palsy and “pre-existing health problems.” The original caption stated: “He was born healthy.” Israeli Consul General to Toronto Idit Shamir said: “One of the oldest lies in human history, that Jews deliberately harm children, is...”

The claim that a New York Times contributor won a 2026 Pulitzer Prize for a viral Gaza photo that was later corrected is supported. Saher Alghorra was awarded the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for a series of images depicting starvation and devastation in Gaza. One of the most prominent photos in the series, featuring an emaciated 18-month-old boy named...